This invention relates generally to woven carpets and, more particularly to the fringing, decorative bordering and the inlaying of independent strands into the face design of Wilton carpets.
The Wilton carpet is one type of woven carpet, where the face yarn is woven into the backing material, not just fastened to the backing with adhesive as are tufted carpets. The Wilton carpet, named for the town in England where this type of carpet looming originated, is distinguished by the layering of its face yarns: the Wilton loom uses up to as many as six different yarns to form the pile--the design in the carpet face. Although it varies from carpet to carpet, one face yarn is the dominant yarn whose loops form the majority of the carpet design. Where the design requires a yarn of a different color or texture, that yarn forms a loop in the design. Otherwise, this least-used strand remains buried beneath the dominant yarn, running in a parallel direction through the carpet backing. The face yarn and all its underlying yarns are woven in one direction: the longitudinal direction. There are no yarns woven in the transverse direction.
Usually, the Wilton carpet border is finished off with a binding--a fabric sewn around the periphery of the carpet. This binding hides the cut ends of the face yarns and backing strands and also serves to keep these yarns and strands from fraying and unraveling. However, the binding detracts from the overall appearance of the carpet due to its "non-integral" nature. This can be further aggravated by the visibility of any stitching used to affix the binding to the carpet.
For clarity of fiber orientation, strands running in the direction of loom motion, i.e., the longitudinal direction, are known as warp strands. Strands running perpendicular to the loom motion, i.e., the transverse direction, are known as weft strands.
The following constitute examples of various types of prior art involving woven carpets in general concerning fringing and the inlaying of independent yarns into the carpet design as found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 647,100 (Kross); 1,310,902 (Ayres); 1,899,219 (Underwood); 2,141,386 (Habib); 3,279,026 (Strauss et al.); 3,727,645 (Jowett); 5,027,483 (Anderson).
The method disclosed by Kross requires narrow strips of used woven fabric be fed into an apparatus that cuts the warp threads on each edge of the fabric strip at short intervals. After the fabric is removed from the machine and the cut warp strands are shaken out, the result is a fabric strip with fringes along the longitudinal sides of the strip. These fringes, consisting of weft fibers, are then woven into an article to be fringed.
The method disclosed by Ayres is to create integral fringing from the weft strands rather than from the warp strands. The result of the Ayres' method is that the width of the fabric as woven becomes the length of the carpet and instead of the warp strands being the longer threads of such carpet, the weft fibers are the longer. In the production of the woven fabric, just within the longitudinal sides of the fabric, there is a band of fabric where warp strands are highly dispersed. Everywhere else, at the very edge of the longitudinal sides and outside the band, both weft and warp strands occur in their usual density. Upon removal of the fabric, the dispersed warp strands in the band are removed and a plurality of weft strands are twisted with each other within the band. These twists are then glued or latexed to permanently maintain the twisting. Following this, the longitudinal sides of the fabric are cut off, leaving a woven fabric with fringes on the sides perpendicular to the loom motion.
The method disclosed by Underwood creates fringes, independent of the carpet itself, which are then attached to the border of the carpet which is to have fringing, i.e., the entire fabric consists of multiple fringe segments that can be cut from the fabric and applied to another carpet. A fringe segment consists of a body to which the fringes are attached. Once the fabric is woven, it largely consists of weft strands. These strands will form the fringes for every fringe segment. Uniformly dispersed along the weft strands are two perpendicular and adjacent bands of woven weft and warp strands. These two bands (pair) are separated from one another by small lengths of weft strands. The pair will form the body of the fringe segment. Starting from one end of the fabric, and midway between the first two pairs, the weft strands are cut. What has been removed is a fringe segment. The fringe segment is folded over such that the two bands are on top of one another. This folded-over segment is the body of the fringe segment and is then sewn onto the border of the carpet which is to have fringing.
The method disclosed by Habib is similar to that disclosed by Ayres in creating the fringes of a woven fabric. Under the Habib teaching, the weft strands are also used for the fringes rather than the warp strands. However, in creating the longitudinal bands, no warp strands are used. Once the fabric is removed from the loom, the longitudinal edges need only be cut and the result is the same as taught by Ayres.
Strauss et al. discloses an apparatus for mechanically fraying and fringing the edge of a straight cut fabric of desired width of edge and to a desired depth or length of fringe. The apparatus uses a spindle to release a transverse yarn fiber. Depending on how far into the spindle the woven fabric is fed, determines the number of transverse yarn fibers released and thereby establishes the length of the fringes (i.e., the yarn fibers along the spindle axis from which the transverse yarns are released, form the fringes).
Jowett discloses a modification to a Wilton carpet loom which creates a passage across the width of the loom for insertion of pile wires (face yarn). The loom uses a movable guide to permit the insertion of a desired strand within the face of the fabric and then returns the loom to the mode it was in just before the insertion occurred. This apparatus permits the insertion of an independent fiber during the carpet's original production.
The method disclosed by Anderson is for selectively releasing tied yarns from a fringe strip, separating them and then presenting them for interweaving in a seam area. This method does not result in the creation of a fringe projecting from the edge of a carpet.
Based on this prior art, carpet fringes along the sides of the carpet have been created by manipulating the weft strands into fringes. To accomplish this, the looming had to be contrived so that free weft strands could be available upon the carpet's removal from the loom. This required the use of edge bands of woven warp and weft fibers to hold the carpet together during looming. Upon the carpet's removal from the loom and once the unwoven weft fibers were twisted and glued in such a manner as to not come apart, these edge bands were cut off and disposed of, leaving free weft fibers to act as fringes. Such "integral" fringing utilized the weft strands of the loomed carpet itself to act as fringes. Both Ayres and Habib teach such an integral weft strand method of creating a fringe. On the other hand, Underwood teaches the looming of "non-integral" or independent fringes which are then attached to the desired carpet to be fringed.
As the prior art stands, no method exists for creating fringing at the two ends of a Wilton carpet using integral fringes by way of the warp strands. The prior art has not provided for a Wilton carpet with integral fringe, nor a viable method of producing a fringed Wilton carpet. Thus, a need exists for the same.